I finally sold it for a small fraction of what I paid for it, but I was out from under the HOA fees and taxes which at about $1,700. per year, which is a sizeable sum for me, and as we know, these fees increase every year.Bottom line is, DO NOT purchase property there for an investment. 

It's usually much easier to pay a small monthly fee to have a professional manage your property.

You could lease part for food service or coffee shop and some retail space, a small health club, massage. 

. - The minimum investment is $10,000 (or 2 shares) so small-balance IRAs, HSAs, and Coverdell ESAs may participate.

Brooklyn, Manhattan and Western Queens are good areas for this and townhouses/ small landlords will probably give you the most opportunity. 

I did a small project from auction.com many years ago 126k Purchase Price 309k Sales Price It just sold for 450K ....  

Many prospective buyers don’t want to pay large mortgage payments on a home listed at market value and they know enough about home renovations that they can rehab it themselves and have exactly what they want in a home and can have a small payment on it if it is purchased this way. 

For my next deal I would prefer to invest in a small multifamily property (2-4 units) around $250,000.

This is the answers I needed to invest a small portion of my funds to see how it goes.

Well there's a reason they screen their borrowers, secure their loans with a first position trust deed/mortgage and charge a small fortune to make such a loan.